KUMCHAND DHULAJI PALADUVALA Vs. GOMRAJ FETECHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Six plaintiffs filed a suit in the Court of the City Civil Judge, Madras, against two defendants for dissolution of partnership. As one of those defendants was admittedly not living in Madras, leave to sue in the City Civil Court had to be obtained. Leave was granted by the City Civil Judge although it was applied for only after the plaint had been filed, and the question at issue in this revision petition is whether it is not obligatory in the City Civil Court for such leave to be applied for before the suit is filed.

(2.) In support of this position reliance is placed upon Section 8 of the Madras City Civil Court Act which runs as follows: All questions which arise in suits or other proceedings tinder this Act in the City Court shall be dealt with and determined according to the law for the time being administered by the High Court, in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction and it is admittedly one of the rules of practice in the High Court that leave to sue in circumstances such as this must be asked for in the plaint itself.

(3.) Ths question then is whether Section 8 of the Madras City Civil Court Act is wide enough to include the procedure in force in the High Court. We do not think it is, and we think the word "Law" in Section 8 was advisedly chosen with reference to the provisions of the Letters Patent. The "Law to be administered by the High Court" is to be found in Clauses 19 to 21 of the Letters Patent where reference is made to law, equity and rule of good conscience, but nothing is said about the details of procedure. We see no intrinsic reason why the City Civil Court should be placed in the same position as the High Court in the matter of procedure or why it should not be governed by the Civil Procedure Code in which case admittedly leave to sue can be given after the plaint is filed.